{{nydis1congtoc}}The [[New York's 1st congressional district|1st congressional district of New York]] will hold an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012.

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{{nydis1congtoc}}{{tnr}}The [[New York's 1st congressional district|1st congressional district of New York]] will hold an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012.

[[File:NY1.jpg|thumb|300px|This is the 1st congressional district prior to the [[Redistricting in New York|2011 redistricting]].]]

[[File:NY1.jpg|thumb|300px|This is the 1st congressional district prior to the [[Redistricting in New York|2011 redistricting]].]]

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Candidates wishing to run were required to file by the [[Signature_requirements_and_deadlines_for_2012_U.S._Congress_elections|signature filing deadline]] April 16, 2012. On January 27, 2012, [[judgepedia:Gary Sharpe|Judge Gary Sharpe]] moved the primary date from September 11, 2012 to '''June 26, 2012''' in order to allow for sufficient time to send absentee ballots to military voters.<ref>[http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/judge-moves-congressional-primary-date-to-june/ ''New York Times'' "Judge Moves Congressional Primary Date to June," January 27, 2012]</ref>

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{{Congintro2012

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|Filing deadline=April 16, 2012

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|Primary date=June 26, 2012

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|Primary=New York has a [[Closed primary|closed primary]] system, meaning only registered members of a particular party may vote in that party's primary.

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|Voter registration=Voters had to register to [[Voting in the 2012 primary elections|vote in the primary]] by June 1. For the [[Voting in the 2012 general elections|general election]], the voter registration deadline is October 12, or October 26 in person.<ref>[http://www.elections.ny.gov/VotingDeadlines.html ''New York State Board of Elections'' "Voting Deadline Page," Accessed June 30, 2012]</ref>

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|State=New York

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|Incumbent=Heading into the election the incumbent is [[Tim Bishop]] (D), who was first elected to the House in 2002. }}

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Heading into the election the incumbent is [[Tim Bishop]] (D), who was first elected to the House in 2002.

==Fusion voting==

==Fusion voting==

New York is one of eight states that have "electoral fusion" -- which allows more than one political party to support a common candidate. This creates a situation where one candidate will appear multiple times on the same ballot, for the same position. Electoral fusion was once widespread across the United States, but is now commonly practiced only in New York.

New York is one of eight states that have "electoral fusion" -- which allows more than one political party to support a common candidate. This creates a situation where one candidate will appear multiple times on the same ballot, for the same position. Electoral fusion was once widespread across the United States, but is now commonly practiced only in New York.

Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent is Tim Bishop (D), who was first elected to the House in 2002.

Fusion voting

New York is one of eight states that have "electoral fusion" -- which allows more than one political party to support a common candidate. This creates a situation where one candidate will appear multiple times on the same ballot, for the same position. Electoral fusion was once widespread across the United States, but is now commonly practiced only in New York.

Opponents of fusion voting argue that the process results in dealmarking to ensure that patronage is rampant.[2] Proponents maintain that fusion voting allows for minor parties to actually make a difference during the election, allowing voters the opportunity to vote for a minority party platform but still affect the general election result.[3]

Candidates appearing in the general election will be listed below with colored dots corresponding to any party they will represent on the ballot.

Race background

With incumbent Tim Bishop (D) and Randy Altschuler (R) unopposed in their respective primaries, the 2012 general election looks to be a rematch of 2010, when Bishop beat Altschuler by a very narrow margin. Bishop is seen as one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the New York congressional delegation.[9]

Impact of redistricting

Following the results of the 2010 Census, New York lost two congressional seats, bringing its total number of representatives down from 29 to 27. According to a report in the Washington Post political blog "The Fix," New York was one of the top 10 redistricting battles in the nation.[10]